GATE actually has a long history. It was posted online in 2006, became a book in 2010, a manga in 2012 and now we are given the anime version. If you read the manga then you will probably notice the differences because there are several, though they aren’t major.

The show starts with a portal from another world opening in Tokyo. Soldiers and monsters come through the portal and start attacking the city. Yoji Itami happens to be on the street and you see him fighting off some of the ‘enemies’ with the JSDF. Itami and the JSDF mobilize a squad to enter the portal to the other world to set up a base of operation and to force those from the other world into an open peace negotiation. What the JSDF finds out is that the world beyond the portal is full of magic, dragons and elves. Yoji Itami being a world class otaku, uses his knowledge of the fantasy genre to make his way in this new world and tries to help push negotiations along. Itami has no idea what he’s in for when this journey to the other side really gets underway.

The character development is done well in GATE. You get a backstory on almost everyone who is involved or enough to go on that they aren’t just empty shells. Especially Yoji Itami since he’s the main character of the show. I do wonder if the JSDF members are members of the writer’s squad or at least close personifications of them. Of course you’re probably familiar with these 3 by now: Rory, Lelei and Tuka. They were all trending at different points of the summer, especially Rory.

As you can tell just from the images of the show alone, they really took their time in crafting it. It mostly takes place in a fantasy setting but even when they move to Tokyo, the imagery is sharp. The military parts are probably the sharpest in terms of art and that’s because the creator was an actual JSDF member. The music works for the show and the opening sequence gives you a look into the world of GATE. You get to see visuals related to all parts of the show. This show sits at the top of the list in terms of production value.

GATE was a giant kick in the nuts as someone put it on Twitter. We had no idea of how many episodes it was and then week 11, they say it’ll be 24 episodes. YAY! Then came the kick. After the 12th episode, we learn that the next 12 will be part of the winter schedule. At least it wasn’t like God Eater where it was like an episode every 2-3 weeks and then cut the season short to show them later. I really like the show but that was just bad planning or bad execution. It’s definitely on my list for the winter. If you’re a fan of Outbreak Company then you will probably like this too.